Forum Post: Teeth
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 10, 2011, 11:54 p.m. EST by Notabanker
(4)
from Algonquin, IL
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I think what this movement needs is some teeth. Posting on forums and camping in parks is very nice and symbolic but truly we have to find a way to bite their ass. So here's what I'm thinking, as much as I hate to hurt local merchants we need to create an economic disruption, if because of us less taxes are collected the oligarchs will take notice. On the morning of November 25th, Black Friday park your car at the junction of I 90 and I 94 in Chicago... Park your car, any car that you can afford to live without and leave. If clog up the major thoroughfares we will have managed to bite some oligarch ass!
I think before we start these kinds of direct action we actually need a platform, a concrete list of demands.
like those bankers that have engaged in fraud must go to jail.
those that have covered up instances of fraud must go to jail.
Sensible and enforceable banking regulation
Ending futures speculation on necessities like food and energy
Where they are too big to fail, break them up
Where they can't be broken up, ensure that there are anti-trust laws that work and are enforceable - and that not just for banks but for oil and telecommunications industries and others that fit the bill.
That kind of thing.
There is a platform, it's called the 99% Declaration. It contains a SUGGESTED list of 21 grievances, though it's also been suggested that "the 99% Declaration is an ineffective document. The Occupy Movement will fail if it is adopted. For it will alienate the American People. This is not a question of politics, of right or wrong. This is a question of intelligence. We must be smart. We enjoy popular support, for now. But to preserve America's good will, we must keep our demands narrow: end the corrupting influence of money in politics. That is something a majority of Americans can get behind. That is something a social movement can achieve. And then, and only then, can the other issues be successfully pursued." theghostofthomasjefferson
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
Campaign finance reform is a no brainer - and I agree it should be at the top of the list.
I also agree that we should try to keep our focus somewhat narrow, in that it will help to keep us from getting distracted from within the movement and it will help keep our general message from becoming confusing to those outside it.
But I also think that there are a lot of issues that a majority of Americans are already on board with - like banking regulations that a) end predatory lending practices, b) break them up when they are too big to fail; c) address the continuing foreclosures caused by the subprime market.
These are all things the repelicans staunchly oppose, and they insist they have the will of the people behind them. The sooner we can start pricking holes in such pathetic charades the sooner the repelican party will implode in panic and disarray,
and then we can all go home.
; D
again, "this is not a question of politics, of right or wrong."
the long journey home takes you through Philadelphia on July 4th 2012. I'll bet you'll find Bill Black there too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJe7O-3QBc&feature=player_embedded
Having demands is antithetical to Occupy. We don't want to ask someone else to make alterations to the system. That puts us in a position of asking, and them in a position of deciding whether they will accept our demands or not. This creates a hierarchy asker/giver, and we do not accept hierarchies. We are an anarchy. We want to create a system by the people for the people, not ask someone to change a thing or two.
so then you don't think we should find those things that can be readily identified as in need of correction?
We should simply demand attention, and punish the general public and those institutions that the public pays for, without clearly making any statements whatsoever about why?
Well, ok, that might be one approach. We don't necessarily have to state why - but we must have some clear signals that tell us it is time to act and how - who will provide them if we do not previously come to some collective agreement?
Tyler Durden?
I'm do not believe in Occupy.
I see - you edited your previous comment. I was lost for a moment.
anarchy cannot long exist in human affairs. We have this innate need for security, for food and housing, and are distinctly uncomfortable when uncertainty surrounds these needs. Anarchy promises nothing but such uncertainty - especially with 7 billion people on the planet.
Those who espouse anarchist ideals have never actually seen anarchy at work, and are holding forth some lofty ideals that in reality cannot be applied with any long term success. Human society demands organization, and that no matter how large or how small.
Those who espouse anarchy are either pure theorists, academics, or they are kids intent on rejecting the status quo.
I tend to agree.
what's "your" plan to get from here to there? Don't be offended because in the end we all want real freedom and we can create a system that will deliver it, but it is a process. How are you going to create this system?
These are just baby steps but they are important (and wonderful to behold!). There is a qualitative difference between "asking" and "petitioning"
I don't make plans. I deconstruct those of others.
Hold on there cowboy. This is a fight for the mind. nothing else. The forum is an excellent place to change minds. That car on the highway is just going to entrench people in their emotiional corners. If we can regain the love of humanity, and share that with others, then there will be a lasting change. Oh, and if you really want to bite em in the ass, then start your own evil corporation and put them out of buisiness, anything else is just highh school antics.